New York Jets Quarters Cut-Up (2024)

Over the past several years, the New York Jets have been one of the best Quarters defenses in the NFL. Let's examine their 2024 Quarter cut-up.

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Via Field Vision’s FV Pro

It was a tale of two seasons in New York regarding defense. 2023 was a stellar year for the Jets defense, as they were arguably the top unit in the NFL. Outside of their defensive ends, each unit of the Robert Saleh and Jeff Ulbrich’s defense was in the top five in the league in production. All of this came on the back of Aaron Rodgers getting injured in the first game and the offensive output plummeting to the bottom of the NFL.

2024 was supposed to be different. Much of the defense was back, and Rodgers was finally healthy. The offense stayed below average, and defensive production began to dip after Week 6.

When Saleh was finally relieved of his duties as head coach after a Week 8 fourth-quarter loss to the New England Patriots, which capped a five-game losing streak, the defense was sitting 13th in EPA. By Week 10, the Jets were dead center at 15th in EPA/game. Ulbrich did his best to hold the unit together, but with Saleh gone, the offense floundering, and head coaching duties piling on the usual stress, the defense sunk, eventually landing 20th overall in EPA.

Defense has been the one consistent commodity in New York under Saleh. Last season was one of the best; obviously, 2024 had other plans. Still, there were highlights. The unit was tenth in overall Success Rate (~65%), and the secondary played relatively well, considering the turmoil around it. Both CBs, Sauce Gardner and DJ Reed (Lions), were still widely regarded as top players at their positions.

Nickel Micheal Carter II's back injury kept him out for much of the year, plummeting his production. In ‘23, he was a top-50 player at his position, according to Field Vision’s Havoc Ratings (above). He only played in 25% of the Jets’ defensive snaps, the fewest in his four years in New York. His replacement, Isaiah Oliver (CB111), didn’t play up to Carter’s level, forcing the Jets to play more base 4-3, finishing seventh in usage (27%).

Another aspect that changed in ‘24 was coverage usage. Since the hiring of Saleh, the Jets have been near the top in Quarters usage within the league. Last season, New York ran Quarters on 27.6% of their snaps. That number dropped more than ten percentage points in ‘24.

Personnel was a significant factor in the defensive regression. Last season, the Jets were in Nickel (4-2-5) on 81% of their snaps. In ‘24, that dipped to 61%, a full twenty points lower! Without a quality Nickel, the Jets were forced to play more base, which meant an uptick in Cover 3. For comparison, the Jets ran Cover 3 on ~24% of their snaps in ‘23. Interestingly, their Cover 6, or Quarter-Quarter-Half numbers, stayed the same (10.7%), ranking them ninth in usage across the league.

Quarters was still part of the defense, but Ulbrich was forced to focus more on closed post answers as the season progressed. In Week 4, the Jets ranked fourth in Quarters usage at their standard rate of ~26%. By Week 8, that number sat at 19.4%, eventually lowering to 17.8% by Week 12.

Though the Jets finished 20th in adjusted EPA for Quarters coverage, plenty of ‘clinic’ clips still show their mastery in the coverage. In the past several years, Saleh and Ulbrich have also added a Cover 6 element to their coverage menu. Overall, the Jets finished eighth in man coverage usage (32.5%), sixth in closed post coverage (65.3%), and 26th in middle-of-the-field open coverage (30.7%).

The New York Jets' Quarters Scheme ('23)

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